Duchess Kate, Prince William and Bruiser Prince George have left the building. Actually, they’ve left Australia after their quite enjoyable and fun Australian and New Zealand tour. These are some photos from their final events, the royal goodbye on the tarmac, plus a “surprise” visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra at dawn.

For the final goodbye, Kate did not wear a British designer or an Australian designer. Shock. This tweed coat is by Michael Kors! The Kors coat is described as “an indigo twill jacquard swing coat from the Spring 2014 collection.” It costs £1,870. I like it! And not just because this is a rare occasion where she’s wearing an American designer. I think it’s a great way to do tweed, an underrated fabric. The royal family is very tweedy, but in an old-school way rather than a high-fashion way. I think Kate is trying to do tweed in a smart, fashionable way. I think the hat is sort of ridiculous though – it’s SO small! It’s like attaching a donut to your head.

As for the little Bruiser, Prince George put on his best “NOT IMPRESSED” face on the tarmac. Page Six also points out that on this week’s Us Weekly cover, editors Photoshopped the Bruiser. Page Six says: “They enhanced Gorgeous George with emerald green eyes, rosier cheeks and stronger strawberry-blond-tinged hair and brows. The already adorable prince appears in multiple photos inside with darker brown eyes and paler cheeks.” Wait… does George really have brown eyes? I bet they’re hazel.

King George always steals the show. I got so bored of the Kate and Wills fashion show. I only look now when there is a picture of King George involved. Loved his grumpy faces and chubby legs. More George please before he starts walking and loses all that adorable baby fat.

I can’t tell what his eye color is thought it was brown. No need to start airbrushing kids US magazine.

Kate, William and little Georgie Porgie are a very lovely little family. Love George’s “We are not amused” expression! He is very cute!

Do like Kate’s coat…as with almost everything she wears, it’s very flattering and shows off her very slim figure. Do not like the hat, it’s way too small and looks a little dorky and ridiculous. Maybe she forgot to pack her hats and had to throw one of George’s on…hehehe

Fall is just shorter and easier to use than autumn but both are used in varying ratios depending on geographic location in the US.

Fun Fact for Friday:

Most people don’t even know the reason Americans use the term ‘fall’ rather than ‘autumn’ is that when we were still a British colony — it’s the word that was commonly used to describe the season. It was only after we severed ties with Great Britain that the term gradually shifted in Britain and elsewhere to autumn.

I agree that Americans use fall and autumn interchangeably. But I will be honest, I have run into a few people that didn’t know my name was a season name. I am pretty sure I stared at them as though they had two heads.

I’m sure they are the same people that don’t know Nebraska is part of the Union. Or that the Midwest has both electricity AND plumbing (both are recent so I have to give them the benefit of the doubt). Or that Minnesota isn’t freezing 24/7/365. Heck — it can even go above 100 degrees (or 39 degrees)! Or that being blonde is in no way an indication of IQ.

(I’m blonde and cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen people that are shocked that an intelligent thought comes out of my mouth. They alternate between my hair and my eyes with a stunned look on their face. It’s both amusing and tragic).

I lived in Delaware, and tried to order a subscription to the NY Times. The woman on the phone asked me what state I lived in and I said “Delaware,” and she said, “I know, you said that, but what state is Delaware in?”

You are absolutely correct! I am also from Minnesota, and one of the confused was shocked to learn that Minnesota had hot summers.
I also feel you as a blonde. Every guy I dated before my husband gave me the same look when I informed them I was working on my masters. One asked me if I was joking.

I was ordering coffee in a little roadside diner. When I asked if the pot was fresh the waitress replied that yes but I should wait a minute more because she was “fittin’” to make a new one. Her coworker looked up from the cash register and proceeded to admonish the waitress for her poor grammar – asserting that “fixin’” to was clearly the better choice.
I looked around for hidden cameras.

Autumn is a name! What is this season of “Autumn” you all are talking about???
We don’t have that in SoCal. We have Cool, Warm, Foggy, Warm Again, Hot, Drought and Fire seasons (seriously there is a time of year called the fire season)

I know; I never understand the superiority or chastising towards americans for using a different term/word. Languages are derived from multiple sources, especially american english with so many cultures forming the USA. Geesh, everything isn’t the result of some class issue…I don’t understand australian condescension towards americans on this point, either. Ironic, if you ask me. Regardless, people make it sound like fall is saying ‘ain’t’ or something. Do other versionsof english not feature everyday vernacular that differs from formal vocabulary/grammar? As mentioned already, we americans use fall and autumn interchangeably anyway, so the point is moot.

Also, speaking of ‘ain’t', fascinating to study linguistics and understand the rules of so-called backwards or improper version of a language. They usually do have rules, proper syntax, etc. and it are not simply random or lazy applications of a language. I’m not into ‘cre8tive’ spellings, that’s for sure. But I am down with the idea that cultures within cultures ‘aka minorities’ or subcultures, will create new ways to use a language or cultural attribute, making it their own.

In a Minnesota tap and faucet is used (or used to be) interchangeable depending on context. So it’s not always places with high number of British expats that use those words, as we are a pretty solidly Scandinavian and Germanic bunch of people.

Yeah, I don’t get the ‘My English is better than you’ thinking because even English itself is a hodge-podge of languages and have different rules based on region in the UK. All those differences immigrated with the people. Geesh.

Great example of the hodge-podge:

My daughter’s name is Hebrew. But it’s also Japanese. Imagine the answer you might give to this quetion.

Setting

A very excited and enthusiastic Japanese man looking at MissSlipper’s first name* while he prepares to engrave the Japanese version on a wooden jewelry box (if a Japanese person is showing excitement, please remember that means they are about ready to explode in excitement. Albeit a contained, respectful explosion but an explosion nonetheless).

Japanese man: “Is Japanese or Engwish???” (No L sound in Japanese)

Me thinking: How the HECK do I explain that English is an amalgamation of several European languages???? *Me still thinking* And it borrows from other languages too??? Especially Biblical and Hebrew names. How do I explain that???????

Me saying: “It is English.” 😃

Me thinking: Sorry England! Too lengthy of an explanation.

*Interesting tidbit that may only be interesting to me. In both Japanese and Hebrew her name means pleasant and beautiful.

LS: I have a fun fact for you cos I can see you love etymologies and words. Where there is a circumflex (hat mark; sorry, too lazy to find one to type), it often means that there used to be an S after the vowel it’s over in Old French. If you add the S back in, you can see the origin of some English words – so, for example, pate (sorry, two accents missing there) becomes paste and maitre becomes master. Also, fenetre (window) becomes fenster (window in German and Welsh).

English is a wonderful language both in terms of the richness of source in its evolution AND in terms of the number of varieties that exist today.

Sixer
almost all those words have a Latin origin.
I studied Latin and ancient Greek in high school, and i love EVERY language. I love searching for common origins of words, and how words and their mening change over time.
Whenever English and French words are similar, they often go back to Latin. For example ‘fenêtre’ (‘venster’ in Dutch), Fenster, ‘finestra’ in Italian.. go back to ‘fenestra’.
‘Paté’ is ‘pastei’ in Dutch and ‘Pastete’ in German, though the meaning is slightly different; more like ‘pasty’ in English, and with a bit more imagination also ‘pie’. I’m sorry but i don’t remember the Latin word for it and don’t have any Latin dictionaries here, but i’m sure there’s the common origin for the mentioned words.
Every language is wonderful on its own in my opinion, and i too love the richness of languages. They are so much more than mere ‘vehicles’ to express ourselves. Language is art!

It wasn’t a ‘surprise’ visit! It would’ve been poor form not to turn up to the Dawn Service on Anzac Day, and they were planning on turning up later in the morning anyway, (I know most won’t be concerned what the event was!). Anyway weather is not really that weird here. They went from the coast to the centre of the country, and the NT is still pretty warm this time of year during the day! Usually about 25-30 degrees!

Hey now, Dame Snarkweek….
I am a born-and-raised Southern girl, with an ivy league education plus a PhD and am fluent in 4 languages and proficient in another 3. And I have never let go of my childhood habit of saying “fixin’ to.” Obviously I wouldn’t say it if I’m giving a paper at a university colloquy:-) But about 99% of the rest of the time? Why the hell not? I love the fact that the US has such varied dialects and patterns of speech, and that each region has its own character and idioms. Don’t get me wrong. I drop the hammer on my undergrads (and, sadly, my grad students!) who cannot figure out how to use a relative pronoun. But in conversation, my vote is always to enjoy and preserve and appreciate the linguistic idiosyncrasies that make life interesting.

The Alabama portion of my family has an hour before everyone goes home called “fixin’ to leave.” It’s when somebody announces that it’s time to go, then everybody stands up and hugs, then chats, then hugs again, and it takes about an hour for us to finally get out of there.

It’s a very nice outfit on Kate but I feel like she always wears the same silhouette so it kind of gets boring. I do like the tweed (I love tweed!) and Georgie Porgie is so cute! He’s already acting like a future monarch, hahahaha.

This is totally how I imagine she looks most nights at home at KP, baggy sweat pants, hoodie, big woolly socks, hair in topknot, feet up on the Chippendale sofa, watching telly and not eating bon bons.

Could someone ease explain coat dresses to me? I think they’re lovely, but I don’t understand them. Di you wear something underneath? Does the coat not come off bc it’s you’re outfit? Maybe I don’t get it bc the weather in Texas is never cold enough to wear a coat all the time.

It depends on whether it’s an actual coat, in which case you wear something underneath, or a coat dress, which is just a dress constructed like a coat. Oh, sorry, BabySwans, I’m not helping much. In fact, I confused myself. Lol

But I have seen dresses that are sleeveless and come with a matching coat, and I always thought if it’s cold enough to wear the coat, wouldn’t it be too cold to wear sleeveless? So if you wore it to the office, you would have to wear a coat all day inside. Aren’t you glad I answered you? Lol

I don’t get it either – don’t get me wrong, some of them are lovely but the whole idea of a coat dress just seems weird to me to.

Honestly? I always end up thinking “Bootycall/Escort” when I see them. It’s not that anything about them is inherently slutty (and heaven knows they aren’t cheap!) but to me, it looks like something you wear over nothing but a matching bra and pantie set with fishnets and high heels on your way to a office ‘meeting’ (quickie). The trench-coat flasher type of thing.

I think I may be slightly sleep deprived though, so brain function isn’t high and I could be totally weird in my view of them.

@LS – The shadows on her face reflected her features. I think Kate has the “softest” face out of the Middleton women, but that’s not to saying to much as both Carole and Pippa have severe-looking faces. Kate’s face looked better when she had some weight on her and the angles weren’t as sharp. Also, as I stated, her eyebrows are done up a little too much. I think the filler she uses is a shade or two too dark. As always, the eyeliner didn’t help either.

HH and LadySlippers,
i went to quite a few pictures yesterday in my Quest for the Wiglet.
I really think Kate’s had some work done. Her facial features were very different when she was ‘just’ the royal girlfriend. I found her face to be ‘harder’ too when she was younger..

Rosehip
You are correct. Kate has had some work done. The article is now gone, but it states Kate has had very goodand subtle work done on her under eye bags and nose. Also Veneers and some say she’s had chin work and has shown telltale botox signs here and there.

The biggest difference I see comes from smoking, dehydration, sun damage, weight loss, and age.

@Rosehip – I don’t think Kate has had permanent work done, I think she is just getting Botox or fillers. When she was pregnant, her face looked “different.” And not from gaining weight or being more tired. I think it’s because she stopped whatever she had been doing. I want to say it’s perhaps Botox near the eyes and/or brows. This area is the most noticeable for me.

This coupled with the weight loss gives me mixed emotions. I don’t know if she’s trying hard to be her idea of the perfect princess (sad); or, trying to be a WAG (frustrating). She was pretty before. Very natural looking, athletic, and toned.

HH – I agree that while she may have had fillers and the veneers are pretty obvious too, she didn’t have plastic surgery per se. The weight loss and other lifestyle issues (smoking, sun exposure) can wreak havoc on your face and change the way you look.

I do think she had something permanent done in the eye/nose area. She used to have eye bags, and normally that doesn’t improve with age and weight loss. Also, she used to have a ‘flat’ face, which she doens’t have now. So i wouldn’t be surprised about then chin remodelling FLORC.
I am anything but an expert though.
I just noticed how very different her face used to be.

Definite nose work on Kate. Her nose was thinker more bulbous in the early years when they dated. There was angles of her which showed a thicker bridge to her nose and it was a bit more bulbous.
I think she has Botox but not regularly.
I don’t consider Veneers surgery ,but she has them and they look fine,IMO.

!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh…..my great-grandmother and her two sisters, then my grandmother, had a dress shop in France and when my grandmother came to the US she tried to teach me smocking. I was about seven and clumsy but I remember some little song about planting flowers….

bluhare, I agree. I see Harry — and I am definitely not making a secret Daddy comment either. I saw a bit of William and a bit of Princess Anne really in a couple of shots while they were New Z and Australia-ing, but there’s such a lot of Harry-ness there, in my opinion! he is such a cute baby, I am pathetically dazzled. It was nice to see them as doting parents too!

Thank you, Liberty. Glad to see it’s not just me. My mom lent me a royal baby book her neighbor lent her and believe it or not I can see some of Charles as a baby in him too. Let’s hope he grows up more like Harry!

Besides, it’s way funner thinking of George and Harry having uncle/nephew bonding sessions.

Exactly. I downloaded the photo and took 2 seconds to adjust the white balance to a slightly warmer tone. And my photo looked exactly like the “photoshopped” one. The original one is too blue. His skin colour is not a colour normally seen on live people

There is a question about his eye color (and in babies especially it can be hard to figure). I looked at the picture and blew it up as far as I could and I would say hazel with flecks of blue and green and brown (which is what hazel tends to be like). More like Pippa’s eyes than Kate’s. At least at present anyway – babies eyes can change a lot for quite a while. My daughter had bright blue eyes until she was almost 3 and then they became a lovely green.

I think I might here on my trip to Denver (part business, part American football extravaganza) in November. I live in Florida and just thinking about going outside in something heavy makes me sweat. LOL

While I love Kors this isn’t that special. Tweed has been the trendy fabric for some time now. And that peticular shade of blue from like shaded color wheels has been the go to tone for tweed since it’s a thicker material. It blends very well, but can’t be a singular color overall. Much like Georges Seurat “A Sunday On La Grande Jatte”. A favorite of mine.

So, you can easily find that stye and color shades in a size or cut that fits you HH. And for much, much less.

Sadly, this is true.
Get ready for several vacations. Some without George. William looking for the next procrastination excuse, and very few charity visits.
This tour is a great example that when they do work, they know how to do it. They are capable of being good at their jobs and coming off lazy or disinterested.

OM
Taking your child on an official visit on behalf of the queen isn’t the same as “trotting” him out for weekly pap strolls a la Jennifer Garner/Jessica Alba. I applaud them for this. george is the heir to the heir to the heir. Media comes with the territory so no need to rush it or force it. As a child William was afraid of the press and after huis mom’s death the antipathy solidified. As a father he is trying to do what’s best, imo.

No one is asking them to trot him out on pap strolls. But if you see the Estelle post, they release photos and video from time to time so people can see her, and we all eat it up. Something like that would not mess with George’s safety at all.

No, it isn’t the same as celebrity kids, but he is England’s heir. Why wasn’t he taken to zoos in the UK? Why no PR playgroups in the UK? Why wait until a royal tour to introduce him to the world and his future subjects?

William plays the press when he needs to, so he isn’t that averse to it as he tries to make himself out to be. I totally understand his issues with paps, but the reality is…he is an employee of the UK. If he doesn’t want the UK money, then remove himself from the line of succession and live a private life with his wife and kid.

Agreed, bluhare. I think what they’re doing with Estelle is the perfect model for a royal child. They bring her to events that she would enjoy, but she never seems pressured and her nanny is always there to give he a break if she gets overwhelmed. Which, IMO, is what William and Kate were trying to do with George on this trip. We’ll see what happens when they get home.

The only thing I really wish they would have done differently with George so far is I think it would have been nice for them to release a photo of him at Christmas/New Year. And I would hope they release something around his first birthday. Kate is a photographer! I’m surprised they haven’t released anything she’s taken of him yet (Estelle’s first pictures were taken by her uncle, Denmark regularly shares snaps of the kids taken by Mary, I’m sure there are many more examples).

Agree re the photos, AM. It would have been nice to see a photo at Christmas, and I hope they do on his first birthday. Maybe even showing him demolishing his cake, but I doubt that will happen.

I think Kate is now very unwilling to show any photography publicly after the slagging she took over the photos from their SE Asia trip. Hope she proves me wrong and releases some from this trip (especially if they include George in his natural habitat!).

In comparing George to other royal babies i think we should take in consideration that the BRF is unlike other royal families. Other royal houses never had a Diana situation. She was a world known celebrity and the press was all over her. Her death was beyond tragic and caused more than a stir to her former in-laws.
The press in the UK seems pretty relentless, and that’s not the case for other royal families. Like Diana, WillKat have more of a celebrity-status as well. In other countries you know the royal family is there, but most people don’t really care for them and leave them alone. Not every unfortunate sentence that slips their mouths gets dissected and burnt in the collective memory of the world. (I’m thinking about Kate’s ‘Can one test the smell of tea by smelling it’, for example.)

I completely understand Kate and William being scared to offer a finger and get their whole arm ripped or bitten off.

While I agree with both points this is such a fine line we’re discussing.
Yes, William and Kate should be releasing photos here and there like Estelle gets done. The baby royals are pure gold and should be utilized while they’re still young.
Yes, the parents should be protective of their child. They’re the parents! It’s awful William has such a grudge against the press. His grudge imo is both validated and unfounded. He still has to work with them for the good of the Monarchy. Should he keep trying to censor the press and make large demands of them his son could end up paying for that in the long run.

Rosehip
While this is still debated here it’s my opinion Diana put herself in that dangerous position with the paps. William and Kate would never remove their RPOs and entice the press to follow them and wait until they give them details for big stories. That is what Diana did. Letting the tiger out of the cage in a way.

There’s much evidence and situations overall that shows how cozy Kate and her family got with the press. How manipulative and spiteful William can be with the press. How protected they are from the press unless they or someone in direct conection to them gives a tip off to a pap on where to be at what time to get a picture. Which has happened.
I went off topic a bit to say plainly, Williama nd Kate are in no way victims of the press. Should they feel they are they are quick to take legal measures.

When it comes to your baby there is nothing wrong with doing what you think will protect them, heir or not. I cut William slack because his issues with the press started when he was a child so it is not as simple as saying he brought it all upon himself.

On his first day of school Diana sat with him in the back seat of the car and explained to him that there would be lots of media and to be a big boy about it all. He was almost in tears and said ‘I hate ‘tographers’ During a family ski trip the paps crowded behind the barricades at their chalet shouting despicable things to her as she entered the chalet (the b word and even the c word) as she clutched her childrens’ hands. They wanted a certain reaction from her and of course, she burst into tears. The next day there were pictures of her crying and looking manic with headlines like ‘Di Distraught After Huge Fight With Hubby” No one deserves that. William gets a pass, imo, when it comes to his child.

We aren’t talking bout anything involving day to day life, Snarky. We’re talking about released photos and videos a la Swedish royal family. There is huge interest in George, especially after this trip, and some carefully released photos will go a long way toward satisfying the public and giving him a PR boost as well. Whether William likes it or not, he is a public figure.

Florc
i understand you about Diana, and you’re right. My point is that other royals don’t have the celebrity status that some in the BRF have.
You might be right about them also manipulating the press. I’m not well-informed, but i know you don’t tend to speak unless you have evidence.
The world is just not as interested in other princes and princesses as in William and Kate, Harry and baby George..

As much as I love Diana, she started using the press already by the mid-80′s. 😳

So Florc is right — it is a fine line with what and how to ‘use’ George. And William doesn’t seem to get that his mother had a hand in the press madness so the grump isn’t always justified.

And to follow up from yesterday.

I went back to school for Occupational Therapy (not one though, sadly) and bravo for how well you are using a foreign language. Traumatic brain injuries are nothing to sneeze at. Three cheers for you! And it’s good to know because as you see — regulars often have each other’s back — even if we don’t agree. 😊

LadySlippers + Bluhare + Florc
i didn’t react yet to your comments because i read them only this morning (due to the time difference), and didn’t want to threadjack immediately or come off as if i want to seek attention. Thank you all so much. Your comments were so kind and i was so touched by your support.
The speech troubles are one thing; short term memory and concentration problems came with it (which have also improved hugely, but are still not ok), as did horrible, horrible migraine. Eight months ago they told me i was at risk of having a brain infarctus because of the severeness and the frequency of the migraine. My accident happened a bit more than two years ago but i’m only getting specific treatment since december. (I now know too that my hypofyse was touched, and that brings a bunch of other troubles as well.) I improved so much. I’m so, so grateful, although i admit sometimes it’s difficult not to lose hope and to keep my head up (also literally, because of my neck injury).
In the beginning i was like an Alzheimer’s patient, but i didn’t even realise how bad it all was because i wasn’t consious enough.
Now, i pretty much only leave my house to get treatment, and i only see people (other than my most trusted, intimate friends) when i’m not having migraine. I look like a normal, healthy 32 year old then (plus i always smile, just because i WANT TO), so it’s not easy to put up with the ‘judgement’ of people (mostly women) that come along.
I’m always touched to tears when people are genuinely kind and supportive to me, because i get more than enough of other ‘judgements’.

LadySlippers,
I read you have health troubles too, and i recall you suffer from migraine as well. I’m always behind with reading, but i wanted to tell you i pray for you and send you my positive energy. I know it’s not easy, but hang on! One day the tide will change, also for us and for everyone else that is being tribulated. (I doubt this is proper English but i hope you see what i mean.)
Also, LadySlippers, i like you. You come across as a very gentle and merciful person.

George is a baby. The media’s relationship with him will grow and balance itself out in a beneficial way as tine goes by, I’m sure. No need to use him, imo, except in organic ways that make his parents comfortable. That’s why I like Blu’s ideas.

It’s so nice to read how kind you guys are to each other. Rosehip, you are so sharp you must be doing really well. Keep writing!!. LS and DS, Florc, and others I’m amazed at how much random knowledge and facts get tossed around in here! This Canadian is learning a lot! Have a great weekend…:)

Rosehip, I have known someone with a brain injury and I can’t imagine what it’s like coming back from such significant damage. If it helps, I think you’re being smart by coming online and engaging socially here. We can’t see you, and if you weren’t so forthcoming we’d have no idea you’ve had so many problems. So you get to engage your brain in conversation without the pressure of having to do it in real time. Seems like a win to me! Hope your therapists think so too.

And as for the migraines, I haven’t had them personally but a good friend and my husband both have been incapacitated with them. In fact, when Mr. bluhare and I got married his were so bad we could never make plans as we never knew when he’d have to be lying down in a dark room for a day or so.

I am glad I come across that way because that’s how I strive to be. You made me tear up a bit. Thank you so much.

Yes, I have severe migraines that suck. Keep sending those well wishes and I’ll send some back too. Sound good??? 😃

I also *hate* talking to people because I often sound drunk and can’t think. And I am dizzy, and my balance is totally off so I even look drunk. Oh joy. It’s more humiliating than people realise.

About TBI (traumatic brain injury) the thing to remember is neuroplasticity. It’s AMAZING how our brain can adapt. It’s a stunning work of art and science.

Also, check out the book ‘My Stroke of Insight’. It’s written by a neuroscientist that suffered a stroke at 39 and she records her progress before, during, and after her stroke. Amazing story and she noted advances in healing a whopping EIGHT years after her injury. FYI, most neurologists/ doctors think that after a year you’re pretty much all done. Total BS.

Keep your chin up. Your journey of healing is far from over and gurrrlll you’re working in another language from your native one. That’s tough for someone with an uninjured brain!

Rosehip!! Sending you a hug and wishes for good health. My SIL just dealt with this two years ago (the same migraine issue) and her care has been such that she is doing fabulously well now. I wish the same for you. I get the occasional migraine (mostly a sinus thing in some locales) and I know how miserable it is. Do whatever it takes to take care of yourself regarding the other issue as well, and know that we are cheering you on. You are not alone in spirit.

Dame, Lady…..I think as a future king, though an infant now, George may be getting the exposure to adapt him to the whirl. I somehow don’t think they will overuse him and I thought the on/off of the trip was a nice balance actually. I also thought in a way it allowed Wm, who strikes me as a bit aloof, to realize he could be warmly accepted in caring Dad/nice hubby mode, not just as the old Bachelor Young Prince shtick and as such. maybe the exposure helped him grow up a bit and take a first firmer footstep into his role? Does that make sense?

Lol. Love how squirmy baby G is. In our household we call that ‘wienering’. All 3of our boys always stretched themselves straight like a wiener and tried to slip out of our hands.
I’ll miss these daily royal posts. Hope they are on a roll after this tour and will be more visible back in England.

Its too bad that she only wore one Australian designer on the entire tour. When the Danish Crown Princely couple came to Australia last October, CP Mary wore a huge array of aussie designers and hers was a relatively small tour.

Yes, but Mary is Australian born.
I’m also disappointed by the lack of Aussie/NZ designers. That’s why i totally don’t understand her choice wearing Michael Kors to leave the continent. It seems a bit insensible to me.
(Almost) no Aussie/NZ designers? Sad, but she is still wearing (hence promoting) UK fashion. This was not the time to wear an American designer in my humble opinion, however nice the coat might be..

Rather ironic considering that she was quoted as saying she was really interested in NZ/Aussie designers and kept her nose pressed against the car window as displays flew by. Said she really wanted to be shopping!

So, what prevented her from shopping for said designers while still in England?

Considering how much money was spent on her wardrobe, there were only two dresses that really “wowed” me: The Yellow “Banana” Dress, and the LK Bennett floral dress that Mindy wore better.

Proving the Cambridges are still wasteful spendthrifts, everything else Kate wore was expensive, boring and expected, and worst of all, much of her new wardrobe seemed like a very slight variation on pieces she already owned.

I wonder how long the commentators and media will need to get over the fact they met George, and give the Cambridges the hard time they deserve for being so lazy and wasteful.

Thanks AM. Is the DM on the royals’ payroll? That is a gross underestimation of what all her stuff cost. Alterations not included, costs missing for some clothing, did she really buy most things off the rack, no mention of cost of accessories including shoes except her 10k US watch. Amazing lying spin. Take those estimates and at least double them, I say. Shifty blighters.

I was curious about new clothing items (or at least items I hadn’t seen before) so I did a tally of this tour wardrobe.

4 new hats
6 new coats
10 new dresses – but could be as high as 16 new dresses

Potential for 16 new dresses because I couldn’t tell if 4 of the dresses she wore under her 4 new coats were new. Also I really think the turquoise Wickstead was her pink one dyed and thus not new. I also think the gray Roksanda was her LA dress dyed and restyled.

I didn’t tally new shoes or jewelry but still this was a lucrative trip for the Cambridges. They got a free uber lux vacation. George received a handful of expensive gifts (boat, bicycle, custom skateboard etc). Kate got at least 16 new and mostly bespoke pieces of apparel.

You won’t catch me commenting on the price of her shoes. Her shoes are not cheap, true, but she wears them over and over again.
Plus everyone is entitled to have a watch in my opinion. She can wear it for years and years.
What i don’t understand is the use of having two green coat dresses in almost the same color, and buying a new red coat dress when you already have one. Plus, and i’ve said this before, the red coat dress she already had would have been a far more sensible choice, because all the silver buttons did not do justice to the beautiful fern brooch she wore with it.
I still wonder though if she didn’t have her pink dress with the pleated skirt redyed in teal, and i’m wondering the same about the dove grey/mauve Roksanda dress..
I find the lack of Australian/NZ designers a bit of a missed opportunity.

“You won’t catch me commenting on the price of her shoes. Her shoes are not cheap, true, but she wears them over and over again.
Plus everyone is entitled to have a watch in my opinion. She can wear it for years and years.”

How do we know that she wears her shoes over and over again? I hope she does.

Where is it written that everyone is *entitled* to a 10K US watch? Because I want one!

Agree on the wowing, and I only had two as well, only they’re the coat last weed on Easter (but not the hat) and this one today (without the hat). I even liked the red one she wore when they arrived in NZ, but not the silver buttons. That one has grown on me the more I see it.

His too short blue trousers are the reason I think he only has one blue suit. Not kidding at all. I believe he brought 1 blue suit on this tour and every blue suit we see him in in the UK is the same one.

If you look at closeup photos of him on this tour the suit looks like it needs cleaning.

1. He brought his personal valet with him. Doubt he would do that with only one suit to look after especially when Kate also brought along a dresser disguised as her LIW’s assistant (love the lengths they go to pretend they don’t have staff)

2. As his suits are all bespoke, it’s not too far-fetched for him to order several of the same style and fabric to the same measurements or change the colour, but keep the style and measurements. To the public it looks like he has only one suit.

3. I stand by my latter assertion above because he has worn a different coloured suit, in a dark grey colour, and no one noticed.

4. The fact that he appears to have one suit also keeps the public from putting a price on his wardrobe unlike Kate.

The dresser/PA/whatever you want to call her was also on the Canada tour (and presumably the Asia tour). She’s been there the whole time. Again, I don’t have a problem with this (I think she SHOULD have someone), it just contradicts the image Kate’s selling of steaming her own clothes every morning.

Hahahaha, awesome! They are going right back to what they’ve always done. So they were forced to do a fun mini-job in an exotic location. Whoop-de-doo-da. Everyone in the public eye has to throw the public a bone to justify the fact that they exist every now and a gander.

Hihi
As a side note: i don’t know what i was thinking yesterday when offering to bring cucumber sandwiches to the Wiglet Wagon. Chocolates, that’s what i’ll bring!! You all assumed i am Dutch but i’m Belgian!!
Je vous aime toutes aussi

The coat is nice but boring. The hat–I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out be a communications device that feeds her small talk and protocol instructions. Regarding the tour itself, let’s hope she keeps up the momentum when she gets home and really does go “back to work with a vengeance.”

Some days ago people here were commenting about the length of their “workday” and someone posted a link where a person was counting it based on tweets about the event (from the first to the last tweet about it), making it obviously completely inaccurate. So I decided to count and post here at the end of the most hectic, grueling, squashed-any- republican-sentiment tour ever. I took my facts from local news and the mirror
New Zealand
day1: maori welcoming(20min)
48 hours off in luxury lodge
day3: playdate(30min)
day4: wreath(30min), aviation(30min), reception(1hour), william meet. pm(20min)
day5: yachting(*refusing to count as a workday* :-p)
day6: will-aerospace/kate-hospice(1hour), velodrome(1hour)
day7: winetasting-jetriding-spending the rest of the day-night at luxury resort :-/
day8: memorial for earthquake victims(1hour), visitors centre/cricket(1hour)
day9: off “because george had to spend last night without them” *cough*
day10: police college(1hour)

Australia
day1: reception operahouse(1hour)
day2: meet fire victims-blue mountains(90min)
day3: easter show(1hour), hospice(90min), beach(30min)
day4: airforcebase(90min), reception(1hour)
day5: zoo :-p
day6: “resting day” *eyeroll*
day7: training academy(30min), culture centre(30min) ayers rock(30min) then “glamping”
day8: systemstudios civic centre(90min)
day9: arboretum(30min), parliament recep(30min), gallery(1hour), reception(1hour)
day10: dawn service(1hour), anzac day ceremony(2h30min)
”meet and greet” are included, I didn’t put greeting people at airport(5min), that children’s rugby match was about 15min and going to church surely is private.
Times are approximate as they are never punctual, they arrive/leave late/early all the time usually 10-20 minutes(at the last reception late 40!, with no apologies. It was not like they had traffic) weren’t British meant to be punctual?
I always had a giggle everytime I read in the media about what Will and Kate ”spend the day” doing, and kaiser complaining about kate spending all of the events of the “day” in the same dress, when their “day” was an average of 90 minutes.
Now they will probably have at least a month off like they had after coming back from previous tours, but in May william bff is getting married in the usa so maybe we’ll get pics.

I must say that I dearly want to believe you are my little future hell-raiser royal second favorite, Lady Louise Windsor, quietly tapping out the facts on your secret bedroom mac laptop while Sophie and Edward work away in the next room!

I really like the breakdown, good work! I am dying to know how this stacks up against their previous tours though. Especially Canada, they seemed to do quite a bit more on that one, possibly because the Queen had a greater hand in it.

Any reason you didn’t include travel time? I don’t get paid to go to and from my regular workplace, but when I’m required to travel somewhere unusual, especially a long distance, then travel time is definitely included as part of my working day.

They could’ve fitted in a few more events, certainly. But if they’re averaging 3 hours travel time per day, then that should be acknowledged, and we shouldn’t expect another 8 hours “work” on top of that.

When I was traveling for work, I absolutely was expected to work a full day. Sometimes the traveling was part of it, sometimes it wasn’t. And also weekends. So I don’t think WK had it too tough, especially when their travel time was on jets being served. Not quite the same as slogging it through traffic to get to the next stop on the dog and pony show.

blu, me too. My hair can look sort of normal in the winter and normal-ish flat-ironed. I turn into a being in a massive Broadway wig on the first day of summer. The waves rip free!! Swear to god, a wasp got stuck in it once — THAT BIG. I look like one of those dolls with press-button retractable glamour hair. Once on a shoot between stuff our brilliant Spanish stylist wanted to braid it. Okay! I freed it from my pinned up deceptive flat pony tail. He was sweating an hour later. It was like some giant prep session for those VIkings actresses.

The ‘of Wales’ gets dropped at marriage when another title is aquired. Prince/Princess of X is usually only used for unmarried offspring.

Harry, Bea, and Eug will all lose their ‘of Wales’ or ‘of York’ at marriage because they will all get new titles (Harry probably a duchy and both princesses their husbands name).

Prince Michael of Kent never got another title so he still uses his as he dors not have another. His sister, Alexandra, lost her ‘of Kent’ because she added her married title at the end of her name.

Kate is HRH Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge and so on because her husband is HRH Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, Baron Carrickfergus (I copied his full title that she would just take the feminine form of).

The ‘prince’ part of William’s title isn’t his highest title nor is it a title per se. It’s a form of address that simply denotes who is a child/grand child of the monarch, caveat extension to children of eldest child of POW as a result of PGtips (and other potential siblings from William’s marriage).

William’s highest title is his ducal title. Females go by the feminine version of their husband’s highest title. Therefore Kate is HRH The DoC, blah, blah NOT HRH Princess William, The DoC, blah blah

Kate is beautiful but sometimes her outfits remind me of Queen Elizabeth. Too stuffy for such a young, vibrant lady. I’d love to see her in a chic, youthful outfit. Queen Rania has amazing style and always looks classy.

What I find interesting is that this is touted as a Michael Kors design. So what, pray tell, is the outstanding difference between this one and many others she has worn? Kors should be mortified because he might as well be Catherine Walker or any one of the other designers Waity has used.

RoseHip,
I want to thank you for sharing your struggles regarding your brain injury. I too have many struggles since my second brain surgery about 10 years ago. I could never understand how I became so house bound as I was very outgoing, although I am comfortable alone at home when it came to social obligations or celebrating with friends, I was always excited to participate. Then after I became suddenly ill and had complications, I was aghast at how rude my neighbors and co-workers were towards me. It was overtly rude. Long story short, I am withdrawn from everything except doctor appointments, and even those I dread. I too have issues with communication, trying to talk on the phone is such a struggle without facial cues to help. So, I don’t talk to anyone, not even my family, as I’m left with a horrible headache.
Anyway, long story short, I now understand a lot more of why I have changed thanks to your help. That’s more than I’ve received from doctors and even therapists. So few medical practioners understand the human mind and how it’s dysfunction can be life altering, even though everything looks fine from the outside.

Good news that I must share, the headaches lesson in frequency and intensity around the five year mark, and the last two years I’ve been relatively pain free (unless I have to talk on the phone or drive somewhere unfamiliar, etc.) I caught a few typos, and grammatical errors, there may be more. This is extremely frustrating to me as I went to a reading and writing intensive college and excelled. Now both are a real struggle. Number sequences have improved greatly, but I’m still unable to do simple math, and cannot memorize any numbers.
Anyway, thank you for sharing why you don’t feel comfortable outside of your home. It is my protective safe place too. Hopefully we will gain the abilities and strength to venture out. (Hope my rambling is comprehensible).

I disagree with the comments regarding William and Kate being lazy. I believe that this is a very well intentioned ploy to keep them from overshadowing Charles and Camilla. For several reasons:

1. If W&K become more popular than C&C the palace runs the risk of public outcry to skip over waity Charles because he and Camilla had an adulterous affair, and this is both their second marriages, etc.
2. Charles fears two things, his family being more popular than him. He despised Diana for her grace in crowds, and her great fashion of the times, and her charitable sponsorship of causes such as HIV-AIDS, etc. He also fears never being King, with Camilla as his Queen.
3. There has never been a sitting Queen with three heirs waiting in line to succeed the throne. Chances are excellent that QE will live into her 100s. She will not step down. Charles will do more in the next few years. A man who won’t begin his career until well after retirement age.

No. William and Catherine are being held back from doing their duties by Buckingham Palace. The question to be queried is “Are Charles and Camilla towing their share of the hard work?” As the next in line to the throne, they should be expected to do much more than William and Kate.

If Charles wasn’t so insecure, he would be thrilled to have every member of his own family work for the people in the UK.

1. Charles *was* jealous of Diana, with good reason as she was genuinely popular and beloved and yet he never curtailed her engagements or tried to hold her back as far as her work or public appearances, even when she pulled stunts to deliberately make him and the rest of the family look bad.

2. Whether or not William is more popular than Charles, the system doesn’t allow for Charles to be skipped over. He is next in line, no matter how disliked (or not) he may be. End of. The queen has no say in it, and both Parliament and the realms, and the Church would have to agree to Charles being skipped.

3. Anne works as much as Charles and people respect her more than they respect Charles. This is a public view, and again, Charles doesn’t curtail her workload or appearances.

4. The view that Charles is holding back William and Kate is something that has been put forward by people who adore William and Kate, but can’t explain why they don’t work as much as the rest of the family. It seems their fans prefer the insecure Charles of the 80s to the secure Charles of 2014 who has the confidence to sideline his own brothers and sisters and their families in favour of his own family and their wives.

5. Further to point 4 above, Harry works more than William and i’d wager is more popular in the Diana fashion than William. Charles is certainly NOT holding Harry back.

6. Finally, there does exists a photo of Victoria with several generations of heirs ( bertie her son, George V her grandson, and baby David her great grandson who later abdicated) She died 7yrs after that particular picture was taken. I can’t post the picture from my phone, but will do so as soon as I get to a computer. And going back several generations, even if in that scenerio the line of succession went sideways to brothers and sisters, there is that famous painting of Henry 8 with his children, all arranged in order of succession importance ans as we know they all went on to rule.

Lak – As usual, your commentary is thorough and spot-on! Your knowledge of the royals is excellent. Sophie is another royal who outshines Kate in the work ethic department and I notice whenever she (or Anne for that matter) are “working”, the articles focus more on what they are doing v.s. what they are wearing.

WK have set the bar so low, they are praised and idolized for simply showing up, smiling and wearing nice clothes. Photo ops don’t capture all the real work that more committed royals do unfortunately. When Diana was alive, I read that she didn’t just show up for the photo op, but also did a lot of work on the sly without being pictured. She, Sophie and Anne seem a lot more genuine than Kate..

I’ll add the Yorkies to the list. Despite being sidelined, when they show up for their patronages, the spotlight remains focused on the charity/work and not their clothes and we know how much the press hates the Yorkies and their fashion.

I’ll add the Yorkies to the list. Despite being sidelined, when they show up for their patronages, the spotlight remains focused on the charity/work and not their clothes and we know how much the press hates the Yorkies and their fashion.

LAK has explained, very well, why the Charles of 2014 is significantly different from Charles circa 1997.

Also,

The court circular lists every official event members of the royal family do. You can easily see what Charles and Camilla have going on, if you want to test your theory that “they should be doing a lot more.”

I’ll give you the quick answer: they do.

But if you want to to go tally up events for each family member, the court circular is here:

Eloise, first thank you for sharing your story. I’m always amazed at the people here — not just for their facility with language, history, current events, but the struggles too. And I think it’s really nice of you to let someone else know that the light at the end of the tunnel might actually not be the train!! I’m glad you are coping, and was I on the right track when I told Rosehip that being social here is good? For what it’s worth, you have not lost all your talent with words. Your post did not ramble, and I know you probably corrected a lot of things before you hit “submit”, but it reads beautifully. I have not had a brain injury, and I correct a lot of things before I hit “submit”, because I can ramble on like nobody’s business.

So please keep posting. I can tell we are probably going to disagree on a few things, but that’s OK. Different opinions make the world go round, right?

OK . . . on to the disagreement. I think there’s one flaw in your logic. In order for Charles’ “streamlined monarchy” to work, all of the streamliners (Charles, Camilla, William, Kate, Harry, plus the Queen and DoE) have to work. The Queen and DoE are starting to slow down, so someone has to pick up the slack. We’ve all talked about how none of them really work like a full time worker in the real world works, but they need to work full time in the royal world. With William dithering on and on about what he wants to do when he grows up, that’s not happening. I think Kate follows his lead, although nothing (from what I understand) is holding her back from taking on more work. Other than George, that is, although they now have a full time nanny so that argument doesn’t hold as much water as it did.

One other thing that has nothing to do with logic and more to do with me is I just cannot understand how a loving parent (which Charles is supposed to be) would try to hold his children back. I just can’t see it.

Just back from a conference in Vancouver, BC but raced through all the comments here as soon as I hit the house desk!

When I look at former photos of PC holding and apparently truly enjoying his first child (on tour) and later on, pics of his sons obviously having ‘hands on time’ with their father I wonder:

Why did William rarely hold his son (on this tour) as his hips are somewhat larger than hers?

Charles may be somewhat of a fop and a tad spoiled but he WILL be king so it’s a bit difficult to believe that he is envious of his son and daughter-in-law enough to keep them in the shadows, as it were.

I believe that William is a largish brat. I believe that his duchess will do as he demands. They will retire to their summer place and carry on as William sees fit. PC will not rock the boat….due to lessons learned previously from his former wife.

I had considered Queen Victoria’s family, and I should have looked into it prior to posting. Thank you for correcting that.

Since I’m an American and not from the UK I admit that my perceptions are only from multiple (unreliable) media sources and nothing that is based on local news. It is more than plausible that the coverage of Diana in our country was skewed in her favor for a multitude of reasons. Also, I am biased in what I want to think is true.

Thank you for your input on this topic and I hope to read more from all of you.